Filing tray or drawer



C. C. CARPENTER.

FILING TRAY 0R DRAWER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1918.

Patented July 25, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

In ven o r Marwggs C. C. CARPENTER.

FILING TRAY OR DRAWER.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1918.

Patented July 25, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Ina/enter 6 l ly/J- wing-s.

STAT-ES PATENLoF Ic E. 1

015mm 0. CARPENTER, OF CINCINNATI, CHIO, .ASSIGN'OB '1'0 TH E SAMUEL C. TATUM COMPANY, DIE CINCINNATI, OHIO, CORPORATION OF CHIC.

FILING- IRAY OB, DRAWER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2 5', 11922.

Application filed May 21, 1918. Serial No. 235,876.

To/all whom it may concern;

Be it known that 1, CHARLES CARPEN- TER, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Cincinnati, in the county of Hamilton and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Filin Trays or Drawers, of which the'following specification is a full disclosure.

My invention relates to a card and loose sheet filing tray ordrawer and particularly to follower devices between which the cards are packed and clamped and to means for offsetting the cards one from the other to facilitate in fingering the cards. An object of the lnvention is to provide a card filing tray with a pair of translatable followers between which the cards are packed or filed, arranged for holding the cards in an inclined position and alternately in a vertical or upright position bound or clamped together, and to themeans' for moving the follower and locking the same in I an adjusted position.

Another object of the invention is to provide means movable beneath a pack of cards for elevating the cards to bring their uppervention, some relating to details of con-' struction, will be more fully setforth in the descri tion of the accompanying drawings formi g a part of the specifications; the drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, with like characters of reference denoting corresponding parts throughout the several views of which:

Fi 1 is a central vertical section through the filing tray or drawer containing my improvements. i

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the forward portion thereof.

F' 3 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1 showing the card or sheet clamping mechanism in released position and the cards in an inclined and relative ofi'set position to facilitate their indexed reading or withdrawal; Fig. 4 is a section taken on line 44 Fig. 3. I

Referring to the drawings, 1 indlcates a rectangular drawer box or tray casing,

These rails or ledges 2-2 occupy a super-..

posed relation to the bottom 3 or base ed e of the casing to provide a space below t e sheets .or cards for the rod 4 extending lengthwise of the casing upon which front and rear followers or sheet clamping-dethe sheet off-settin means.

The sheets or card front and rear followers 6 and 7 which s 5 are filed between the 'vices are guided and supported and also for u serve as rests for holding the cards, in an inclined position and alternating as clamps for binding the sheets in vertical osition. In construction, the front and rear ollowers are the duplicate of each other, except that the front follower is shifting n on the guide rod 4 by a lever device exten ing through the front wall of the casing'while the rear follower is shifted and locked in its ad-. justed position upon the rod 4 by a friction clamping lever or clip engaged upon said rod. Thus the'front and rear followers in so far as they are the duplicate of each other, each comprises a frame member 8 composed of a strip of metal bent to form and in the form illustrated has a U-shaped base portion 9 with its vertical walls 10-40 apertured to slidingly engageupon the rod 4, and upwardly extended limbs inclined toward each other to make a brace and support for the hingedly connected follower plates:1l. 12. Plate 11 is rigidly connected to one oftheupwardly extended limbs of the frame member 8 while plate 12 is hinged to the base edge of platell to swing to sheet releasing or clamping positions; in the latter position it extends in a vertical plane for binding the sheets in an erect position between the opposing front and rear followers.

The plate 12 in size approximately-equals the size of the sheets or cards and 'nearits hinged end is provided with a tang 14 reaching' outwardly and through a slot in the plate 11 with the end of the tan engage the plate 11 to stop or imit the swmg of the plate 12. A strut clip 15 is hingedly connected to the free end of the bent to s brace limb of the follower frame 8 for engaging the follower plate .12 to secure said plate m'its vertical position.

The front follower is shifted upon the guiderod 4 by a lever mechanism projecting, for access, exterior of the casing. This mechanism comprises a lever 16 fulcrumed upon the side of the front wall of the casing and extending through an opening in said casing so that it is actuated from the exterior of the casing. A link 17 connects the lever 16 with the follower frame, and the link and lever arrangement is such that when the lever 16 is swung inward they stand slightly past a dead center position with the lever fulcrum, for holding the follower in its sheet or card clamping position.

The rear follower 7 is locked in its adjusted position upon the rod 4 by a lever clip 18 having an apertured end to engage over the rod 4 and frictionally lock therewith when the end of the clip is inclined and freely slide thereon when at right angles. 'This clip is provided with a knee bend 19 which engages an adjacent limb 10 of the follower frame and provides a fulcrum for the clip to swing it into a released position. A spring 20 is interposed between the end of the chp engaged over the rod and the opposite vertical wall 10 of the base portion 9 of the follower frame for urging the clip to automatically bind or look upon the rod.

For rendering each individual card accessible for withdrawal from the pack or examination, means are provided for elevation or raising the cards in an offset relation one to another. The rails or ledges 22 along their inner edges each have a depressed rail flange 21 as opposite guides upon which the card elevating platform, composed of two hingedly connected sections 22-23, slides. The platform section 22 hingedly connects with the cross plate 24 slidingly supported beneath the ledges 2-2. The free end of the cross plate 2a is bent to rest and slide upon one of the rail flanges 21 of one of the ledges 2 while its opposite end is fixed to a yoke plate or carriage 25 supported and sliding upon the rod 26 fixed to and extending longitudinally with the tray casing, (see Fig. 4). The carriage 25 and cross plate 24: are provided with hearing lugs for supporting and journalling a platform actuating crank rod or lever 27 arranged to project through a longitudinal slot 28 in a side wall of the casing to bring the handle end 29 exterior of the casing. The opposite end of said rod or lever 27 has a crank 30 loosely engaged with theplatform section 22 and operating in a guide way formed bythe platform and the clasp 31 fixed to the platform.

Thus to elevate and offset the cards the actuator rod 27 is rocked in an appropriate direction, which will cause its crank end 30 to swing upwardly above the plane of the card supporting ledges and therewith swing the platform sections 22-23 from a horizontal plane below the ledges to an angular plane above the ledges as shown in Fig. 3. This will elevate each individual card, en-

1,424,oso

gaged upon the card elevating platform, and to a degree to bring its upper edge to a slightly ofi'set relation from that of its next ad acent card so that the cards of the pack can be easily fingered, the advantages thereof being readily recognized.

The platform sections in either their card engaging or non-engaging positions can be slid in either direction toward the casing ends between the followers so as to be effective on any part of the stack of cards to be fingered. The platform may also be shifted progressive with the fingering of the cards, in which instance the cards would be raised and lowered correspondingly with the advance of the sections, riding upwardly upon section 22 and downwardly upon section 23, or reversely.

The term card is not used herein in the sense of a limitation as ordinarily used to apply to a fiat, usually rectangular, piece of cardboard, but to any article of a sheet or plate character capable of being filed in a receptacle such as a holder or binder. One of the principal uses contemplated is for filing or temporarily holding loose account sheets which have to be handled frequently for machine or hand-posting. The wide adoption of bookkeeping machines has created a demand for loose leaf devices,

presenting freedom in handling a largenumber of sheets, allowing for considerable expansion and making it possible to locate any desired account instantly.

My receptacle, for such particular use as a filing tray, eliminates the expensive binder covers as used in the construction of book binders and eliminates the expense and use of book-holding racks, which are required with the book binders for disposing the sheets at an angle, to project the edges of an adjacent sheet to a graduated extent for rapid fingering and to divide the posted sheets from the non-posted sheets.

Having described my invention,'I claim:

1. In a card filing drawer or tray, a casing having card supporting ledges, a pair of followers movably supported within the casing between which the cards are packed, each follower comprising a frame member, and a follower plate hingedly mounted upon said frame member for engaging the cards and holding them alternately in inclined or upright position.

2. In a card filing drawer or tray, a casing, a pair of followers movably supported within the casing between which the cards to be filed are packed, each follower comprising a frame member, and a card engaging plate hingedly mounted upon said frame for supporting the cards in inclined or upright positions.

3. In a card filing drawer or tray, a casing, a pair of followers movably supported withln the casing between which the cards to be filed are packed, each follower comprising a frame member, a card engaging plate hingedly mounted upon said frame for supporting the cards in inclined or upright positions, and means mounted on said frame member for locking said plate in its upright position.

4. In a car filing drawer or tray, a casing having longitudinally oppositely disposed card supporting ledges, a follower supporting rod supported within the casing below the ledges and longitudinal therewith, a pair of followers slidably mounted upon s d rod, between which the cards are packed and clamped, link and lever devices connecting with one of said followers and extending exteriorly of the casing for shifting and locking said follower in an adjusted position.

5. I11 a card filing container, a casing within which the cards are supported, a follower guide rod mounted within thecasing below the cards, followers slidably mounted upon said rod, and a finger-actuated clip member moving with one of said followers and adapted to frictionally engage said rod for locking the follower to the rod.

6. In a card or sheet filing receptacle, the combination with base members spaced apart upon which cards or sheets are edgewise supported and having their inner and relatively opposite edges depressed, providing rail ledges below the plane of said members, and

a movable shifter composed of hingedly united sections supported and slidable upon said rail ledges intermediate the base members, said sections being adjustable from a plane'position below the plane of the base members and cards to a triangular position extending above the plane of the base members, for moving and projecting adjacent cards engaged thereon to a graduated extent.

7. A card or sheet tiling receptacle, comprising a casing having a centrally depressed base, and a movable shifter composed of hingedly united plate members supported and slidable in the depressed portion of said base, said members-being adjustable from a plane position below the plane of the base to a triangular position extending above the plane of the base for moving and projecting the adjacent cards engaged thereon to a graduated extent.

8. A card or sheet filing receptacle, comprising a casing providing a base upon which the cards are supported edgewise, a movable shifter composed of hingedly united plate members supported and slidable in a plane position below the plane of said base. and slidable and adjustable to a triangular position extending above the base for projecting adjacent cards engaged thereon a graduated extent.

9. In a device of the class described, a casing for supporting a pack of cards, a platform mounted within the casing beneath the cards, composed of two hingedly united sec tions, and means for moving said sections to relatively oppositely inclined positions to elevate the cards engaged thereby to bring their fingering edges in an offset relation to one another.

10. In a device ofthe class described, a casing for supporting a pack of cards. a platform slidably mounted within the casing beneath the cards, composed of two hingedly united sections, and means for moving said sections to relatively oppositely inclined positions to elevate the cards engaged thereby to bring their fingering edges in an ofl'set relation to one another.

11. A card or sheet filing receptacle, com-. prising a casing providing a base upon which the cards are supported edgewise, a movable shifter composed of hingedly united plate members supported and slidable in a plane posit-ion below the plane of said base, and slidable and adjustable to a triangular position extending above the base for projecting adjacent cards engaged thereon a graduated extent, and a crank member engaged with one of said plate members tor sliding and adjusting said members.

In witness whereof. I hereunto subscribe my name, as attested by the two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES C, C.-\Rll\"llCR. 'itnesses L. A. Bnon, D. DRAOHENBERG. 

